1972 Kansas City Royals season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1972 Kansas City Royals season was their fourth in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished fourth in the American League West at 76–78, 16+1⁄2 games behind the Oakland Athletics. John Mayberry, in his first season with Kansas City, led the team with 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Mayberry was the first Royals player to drive in at least 100 runs in a season.
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| 1972 Kansas City Royals | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Municipal Stadium |
| City | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Record | 76–78 (.494) |
| Divisional place | 4th |
| Owners | Ewing Kauffman |
| General managers | Cedric Tallis |
| Managers | Bob Lemon |
| Television | KBMA |
| Radio | KMBZ (Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews) |
Offseason
- November 29, 1971: Steve Hovley was drafted by the Royals from the Oakland Athletics in the 1971 rule 5 draft.[1]
- December 2, 1971: Jim York and Lance Clemons were traded by the Royals to the Houston Astros for John Mayberry and Dave Grangaard (minors).[2]
- March 15, 1972: José Martínez was purchased by the Royals from the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3]
- Prior to 1972 season: Mark Williams was signed as an amateur free agent by the Royals.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 93 | 62 | .600 | — | 48–29 | 45–33 |
| Chicago White Sox | 87 | 67 | .565 | 5½ | 55–23 | 32–44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 77 | 77 | .500 | 15½ | 42–32 | 35–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 76 | 78 | .494 | 16½ | 44–33 | 32–45 |
| California Angels | 75 | 80 | .484 | 18 | 44–36 | 31–44 |
| Texas Rangers | 54 | 100 | .351 | 38½ | 31–46 | 23–54 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | TEX | |
| Baltimore | — | 7–11 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 10–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | |
| Boston | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 8–7 | 5–9 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 9–3 | 8–4 | |
| California | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 9–6 | 7–5 | 7–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 10–7 | |
| Chicago | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 8–9 | 9–3 | 8–6 | 7–5 | 7–8 | 14–4 | |
| Cleveland | 10–8 | 7–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 10–8 | 6–6 | 5–10 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 2–10 | 9–3 | |
| Detroit | 8–10 | 9–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–10 | — | 7–5 | 10–8 | 9–3 | 7–9 | 4–8 | 10–2 | |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–9 | 9–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 8–6 | |
| Milwaukee | 5–10 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–5 | 8–10 | 5–7 | — | 4–8 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–7 | 6–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 9–9 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 8–9 | 11–7 | |
| New York | 6–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 9–7 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 8–4 | |
| Oakland | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 8–7 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 9–8 | 9–3 | — | 11–4 | |
| Texas | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–10 | 4–14 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 6–8 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 4–11 | — | |
Notable transactions
- June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft
- Jamie Quirk was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (18th pick).[5]
- George Throop was drafted by the Royals in the 16th round.[6]
Roster
| 1972 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ed Kirkpatrick | 113 | 364 | 100 | .275 | 9 | 43 |
| 1B | John Mayberry | 149 | 503 | 150 | .298 | 25 | 100 |
| 2B | Cookie Rojas | 137 | 487 | 127 | .261 | 3 | 53 |
| SS | Freddie Patek | 136 | 518 | 110 | .212 | 0 | 32 |
| 3B | Paul Schaal | 127 | 435 | 99 | .228 | 6 | 41 |
| LF | Lou Piniella | 151 | 574 | 179 | .312 | 11 | 72 |
| CF | Amos Otis | 143 | 540 | 158 | .293 | 11 | 54 |
| RF | Richie Scheinblum | 134 | 450 | 135 | .300 | 8 | 66 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Hovley | 105 | 196 | 53 | .270 | 3 | 24 |
| Bobby Floyd | 61 | 134 | 24 | .179 | 0 | 5 |
| Jerry May | 53 | 116 | 22 | .190 | 1 | 4 |
| Carl Taylor | 63 | 113 | 30 | .265 | 0 | 11 |
| Bobby Knoop | 44 | 97 | 23 | .237 | 0 | 7 |
| Gail Hopkins | 53 | 71 | 15 | .211 | 0 | 5 |
| Joe Keough | 56 | 64 | 14 | .219 | 0 | 5 |
| Bob Oliver | 16 | 63 | 17 | .270 | 1 | 6 |
| Ron Hansen | 16 | 30 | 4 | .133 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Wohlford | 15 | 25 | 6 | .240 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Paepke | 2 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Drago | 34 | 239.1 | 12 | 17 | 3.01 | 135 |
| Paul Splittorff | 35 | 216.0 | 12 | 12 | 3.13 | 140 |
| Monty Montgomery | 9 | 56.1 | 3 | 3 | 3.04 | 24 |
| Steve Busby | 5 | 40.0 | 3 | 1 | 1.58 | 31 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Nelson | 34 | 173.1 | 11 | 6 | 2.08 | 120 |
| Bruce Dal Canton | 35 | 132.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.40 | 75 |
| Mike Hedlund | 29 | 113.0 | 5 | 7 | 4.78 | 52 |
| Jim Rooker | 18 | 72.0 | 5 | 6 | 4.38 | 44 |
| Tom Murphy | 18 | 70.1 | 4 | 4 | 3.07 | 34 |
| Mike Jackson | 7 | 19.2 | 1 | 2 | 6.41 | 15 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Burgmeier | 51 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 4.23 | 18 |
| Ted Abernathy | 45 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1.70 | 28 |
| Al Fitzmorris | 38 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3.74 | 51 |
| Norm Angelini | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.25 | 16 |
| Ken Wright | 17 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4.91 | 18 |
Awards and honors
- Cookie Rojas, Second Base, Reserve
- Lou Piniella, Outfield, Reserve
- Richie Scheinblum, Outfield, Reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings